Description: Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Not anyone. As their senior year unfolds, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.

Review: Mindy McGinnis's The Female of the Species has been on my reading pile since it's release in 2015. It sat on my pile for almost two years now, not because my interest in it has waned but rather I needed to be in the right head space to read it and appreciate it. This is a book that many people will be uncomfortable reading and for a good reason. It is an unflinching, brutal, and thought provoking look at rape culture, its insidiousness, and repercussions. After reading this book I had several emotions swirling in me such as heartache and anger, but most importantly I wanted to discuss it with someone.
  McGinnis transports the reader to a cage-like, small, impoverish town in Ohio where everyone knows everyone and people have rarely left. Teens seeking to escape their provincial lives turn to drinking, drugs, and sex. The book is told in three distinct voices of teens who struggle with sexual violence, both together and individually. Alex, Jack, and Peekay are three high school seniors looking ahead to life beyond high school. Alex is known as the girl whose sister Anna was raped and murdered. Jack is the golden boy who is blessed with looks, brains, and athleticism. Peekay, (real name Claire) a nicknamed dubbed by her classmates because she is the preacher's daughter, is the everygirl though she strays from her religious upbringing but still believes in the goodness of others. All three teens are haunted by the memory of Anna's murder and their outlook on life change as their relationships with each other shift.
  Alex is a fantastically complex character and the book's foundation. She does not fit neatly into any boxes and her ambiguous morality makes her compelling and flawed. When Anna's murderer walked free because of 'contaminated' evidence, she took the law into her own hands. She stalked and killed her sister's murderer and skillfully evaded any legal repercussions. Alex has become a vigilante (serial killer?) and protector of girls who have been victims of sexual abuse and unwanted sexual advances. So, is Alex a hero? An anti-hero? A villain? I don't know and I keep going in circles in my head, but I really loved her. Her voice is mature and she is keenly aware of her own actions and surroundings. It is very easy for McGinnis to isolate her protagonist to an isolated, cold-hearted killer, but she does humanize her by developing a friendship with Peekay and a romance with Jack.
  Unlike Alex, Peekay is a forgettable, ordinary girl for the most part. It is through her eyes that we see how girls illicit violence, with words instead of fists, upon one another or on themselves, whether it is through slut-shaming others and measuring themselves in sexual currency- where having a male openly and lasciviously gaze at your body is equivalent to self confidence. Peekay finally becomes a more three dimensional character when she comes in contact with Alex who helps her change her outlook, but she still keeps silent when she becomes a victim of attempted sexual assault due to shame. Her friendship with Alex brings the much needed light into this dark suspenseful story.
  Similarly to Peekay, Jack is probably the weakest character out of the three. Through his voice, we are given the male perspective where girls are constantly sexualized and objectified. Overall he is a good guy who tends to make his decisions with the lower half of his anatomy and struggles to make the right decisions. I didn't buy into his romantic relationship with Alex. It still struck me that he wanted Alex because she was an exotic and unattainable object. Like Peekay, he too begins to look closely at his actions and how he speaks as he becomes closer to Alex.
  The Female of the Species is not a perfect book. I had unanswered questions and had to suspend my disbelief on the absence of police officials for majority of the book. The book, however, does ask the reader to look closely to the behaviors that our society has normalized and quietly accepted. Some readers might feel that the topics of sexual abuse and assault are heavy handed in the book, but I disagree. It is treated with sensitivity but also portrayed with the necessary weight and power. This book should make your stomach churn, should make you angry, and should make you want to change our society. It is timely, important, and would make a terrific book discussion with mature teens. Despite my discomfort in reading it, I am glad that I did.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong language throughout the book. Brief strong violence including attempted sexual assault, murder, and animal cruelty are mentioned in the book. Strong sexual content and underage drinking and drug usage are also mentioned thorough out the book. Recommended for mature teens only.

If you like this book try: All the Rage by Courtney Stevens, What Girls are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold